Unlikely Affection

Dumbledore's Army

Apparently, the curse that Umbridge invented for the quill heals the wound once you've finished writing the sentence, heals itself, and then re-scratches the sentence into your skin...over and over, and by the end of the punishment I was leaving the classroom with a raw, red scar on the top of my hand.

When I made it to the common room I contemplated what I was going to do about it. I could write to my grandfather and tell him about the torture I was forced to sit through. But of course that would mean pulling him away from the ministry and that is never a good idea. In the end, I decided to wrap up my hand in gauze and go to bed. I refused to give Umbridge the satisfaction of my blabbing to McGonagall or my grandfather.

The next morning my hand was throbbing less but I still kept it wrapped, I hoped to avoid any unwanted questions. But of course, leave it to Edwin to play junior detective and hound me throughout breakfast.

"What happened to your hand? It wasn't like that when I saw you yesterday evening." He asked, shoving a piece of toast into his mouth.

"Oh...I burned it on the railing of the fireplace in the dorm." I lied and apparently, he wasn't convinced.

"I have known you since birth... Are you really going to try and lie to me?" He cocked a brow at me and I sighed.

"Just drop it, Edwin." I snapped, grabbing my bag from under my feet and hurrying out of the Great Hall and towards the Divination classroom.

***Later That Day***

Severus was not in the classroom or his office when I arrived for my free period, so I decided to grab some of the ungraded parchments from his desk and start marking. I had gotten through around half when the door to the classroom opened and the dungeon bat swept in, his robes bellowing behind him. I was quick to hide my scarred left hand in the sleeve of my robes in hopes that he would not see it, but I knew from the moment our eyes met, that something was off.

"Come here." He said simply and I stood from his desk and walked over to where he was standing in the middle of the room.

He opened his arms and pulled me into a hug, I rested my head on his chest and sighed at the comforting contact after the traumatic events of my detention. However, my potions master had ulterior motives for his affection because before I could pull away he reached behind himself and grabbed my wrists pulling them around to his front and holding them steady in front of us.

He glared down at the top of my left hand and my heart rippled in my chest. "Who did this?" He sneered, his eyes never leaving my hands.

"It's nothing." I tried to pull away from his grip but he gripped me a little tighter, not enough to hurt but enough that I stopped pulling. "Please just leave it be."

"What have I told you? You are mine...therefore you are under my protection. I will not ask again...Who. Did. This." His voice was dangerously calm and I decided then to accept defeat.
"Umbridge." I sighed. "It turns out her detentions are worse than yours." He held onto my left hand and pulled me gently into his office.

"Sit." He instructed, pointing at the chair across from his desk, and of course, I complied.

Severus walked to the cabinet in the corner and grabbed a small vial, pouring some of the contents on a white cotton rag he retrieved from the same cabinet.

When he walked back over to me he didn't say anything. He just knelt in front of me and reached for my afflicted hand, dabbing the white cloth over it gently. The scar began to vanish as he rubbed the unknown potion over my hand.

"What is that?" I asked when he was finished, flexing my hand and admiring my now untarnished skin.

He stood and placed the rag on his desk and then leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's a potion of my own design, a fair bit stronger than Dittany."